Ancient Whispers

I did finally get some time to come up with another piece for the ART BEAD Scene's July Challenge. My first try was for a bracelet, it was ok, but I wasn't inspired by the rough piece to continue with it. It will enter my Bamboo UFO Bowl. (That's for Unfinished Objects), and I'm sure I'll come up with something to do with it. But I did make something and rather like it. I guess I am partial to ivory or beige and turquoise and that is what I gravitated to in this piece.

I've had the stone 'bezel' for about four years, bought it at a local bead shop when I discovered it soon after moving here. I loved the irregular striations on it and since I have always loved stone for their beauty alone it didn't bother me that every time I came across this I hadn't made something out of it. I just liked having it. But when searching around through all my beads, UFO's previously made items and the box of 'do something with this! " I came across it again and got to thinking. I didn't even make a sketch with this one, just went to it. I was able to incorporate some beads I'd made about three years ago, some faux turquoise, ivory fossil beads and some ancient Hebrew pictorial beads. I loved how these came out but never knew what to do with them.

My focal Art Bead is made from a mixture of various colors of clay and sand, to emulate the texture in the caves. The pictorial letters are the head of an Ox, reminiscent of the cows and steer through out the caves at Lascaux. The second symbol is a Cattle prod or Ox goad, looks like a Shepherds crook. The Ox stands for the Leader and the goad symbolizes authority. These two put together symbolize G-d in his primitive role, as the leader who guides his people because he is the authority over them. Transliterated this word from Hebrew is 'El'.

I gathered these all together and grabbed some turquoise chips I had recently added to my bead boxes by cutting up an old necklace. It needed a bit more because of the dark brown, almost black vein in the stone bezel. So instead of using any black beads I had I decided to make some faux lava beads. So except for the turquoise chips and the stone bezel I made all these other stone with polymer clay. Not even sure if I want to list this in my AlmostARTifacts shop, I really like this alot and may keep it for myself, but yet I don't go out that much so if someone is really inspired and attracted to it, I would be happy to depart with it, I love it when my pieces find the perfect home! :)

So I just finished this about an hour ago, quick too some pictures and uploaded it to the ABS photo stream at Flickr. Check out all the great entries, this sure was an inspiring piece, seems the ancient art inspires as much if not more than the more modern and professional ones. Wonder if that is because we can all relate to it more?

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Can't get that song out of my head

Play this while reading

It haunts me as I try to sleep, which frankly is a lot better than in the past few weeks where I would go to sleep and wake up with 'Beat it', 'Thriller', 'Billy Jean' and numerous other MJ songs in my head, probably from watching too much news, something that hasn't proved a good thing for me in the past, especially since 9-11-01. :( And thankfully the dreams of Michael have stopped, I kept dreaming of how I could talk to him, help him to keep from destroying himself and to not worry about what others think of your outside, that is their problem that they need to deal with, but it never had a good ending because he's dead). So if you see someone in pain, try to help them while they can be helped. I guess this is so natural to me and not others as this is a common INFJ trait, and had I continued through medical school I would most likely have pursued becoming a psychologist as it seems after looking back, my main goal in life has been to help others or at least try but I've found many really don't want to be helped, sad though that is. But many times I'm not perceived that way and many misunderstanding happen and being an 'In', an introvert I usually would just shrink away. But I've also found that lately I've been trying to defend myself and that backfires too. :( It's so hard being an INFJ sometimes I wanna scream, "why me!??", Why can't I be like 'normal people', whatever that is? :) But I suppose there is a very good reason for us in the world, but why the small proportion I don't understand, only 1% of the population????

I personally think we would do much better in the whole world if there were more INFJ's people that are/were like Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Elenore Roosevelt, and even Carl Jung ( nice to know he was, wish he was alive today to talk with) and some say even the prophet of King David, Nathan was one as well as Jesus Christ? Now I'm not sure how all that can be figured on someone not here today, but I guess it's good to be in that kind of company. :)

Anyway, still had the song below on my mind, so I made this treasury to put it in a visual artistic form. Click on the picture to take you there to view full size. Let me know what you think! I love to read your comments. :)


Lyrics | Hoagy Carmichael lyrics - The Nearness Of You lyrics

Great pieces in this Treasury song collage by:

SarahJohnAfana
designsbywendyt
JenSanCandles
TheNightjar
cyndiesmithdesigns
trendyknitting
LinenMe
ixela
glamarita
carvelcountrysoaps
bovinebubbles

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Two Weeks Notice

I don't usually watch the same movie over and over, mainly because I usually find too many inconsistencies within it to truly follow the story and 'get lost' for an hour or two. But this movie I watched just twice the other night and realized I've probably watched this one over a dozen times or more!

So it made me think, and question. What is holding my interest so much to watch this 'chick flick' over and over again? Then it dawned on me, Lucy Kelson must be an INFJ! So it's not the movie so much as the main character I can relate to. I guess that makes me feel a bit less of the odd one out, as I've always felt. And even though this is fiction, I know that there are a few of us on this planet that do exist even if you may never run (physically) into one in your lifetime. So, I guess I will continue to watch this movie each time I find it airing on some channel. But there is one thing more about this movie that shouldn't be dismissed and it's the great music, from an era I love, and the unmistakably sweet siren solo done live on the set by Nora Roberts.

Perfect for the movie, or just to listen to anytime. Don't believe me? Have a listen.:)





Doesn't hurt to dream, does it?
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Bold Graphics

Sometimes I just love graphics, bold contrasts, numbers, letters, words, maps, lines. I guess I still have the colors of the Lascaux caves on my mind even though I have just about given up trying to produce something worthy to enter at ABS. But I did do something creative even those this has been 'hell week' and doesn't show signs of changing in the near future. This is my collage, otherwise known as a Treasury that I made from things that fit into those catagories above. Check out these shops, they all have wonderful, unique works of art and crafts.

Click to view larger size. Go visit the treasury live here.

Here are the shops I found these treasures in:

carvelcountrysoaps
elefint
InboundThread
Mamachee
mooshoopork
papercutdiecut
Pendantic
PipingHotPapers
SarahJohnAfana
SayYourPiece
SmallEarthVintage

Sound Revolution

Check them out, you never know what treasures you'll find!

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Art Bead Scene July Challenge Lascaux Cave Painting

Have you ever wanted to visit the ancient caves in Lascaux France? That is where a multitude of ancient drawings (some debunk and call it juvenile graffiti) have filled many of the walls and ceilings of these caves in France.

You can take a virtual tour there by going here. It takes you through each room with a diagram on the bottom right that shows your progress. Reminds me of the tombs of the Ancient Pharaohs of Egypt and how their tombs with numerous chambers were built. Here is the site from the French Ministry of culture in English.

Why would you have any interest in taking this tour? Well if you are a lover of art, or art beads or ancient things, this is sure to present you with a delightful 5 minutes or so. Also because ART BEAD SCENE is hosting a challenge this month, not with Renaissance painters, or even more modern ones, but of an unknown painter or group of painters from far in the past, from a section of one of the most ancient large paintings of all time.

Here is a photo of the picture above from the angle of the drawing on the cave itself for perspective. This is the first part as you enter the caves and is called the Great Hall of the Bulls. It has a strange animal there, seen in the top picture to the far left, and in the one below in the upper left corner, it has the 'horseshoes' on its rump and has strange looking horns and is called by the French, the 'Unicorn'.




The challenge is to make a piece of jewelry using this as your inspiration and using at least one art bead. Ever since I heard what the painting would be I have been tossing around so many ideas. Since I love ancient history and ancient cave drawings and have studied ancient petroglyphes, this is right up my alley! So it hasn't been difficult to come up with an idea so much as to pick only one! But I think I've finally settled on one and aim to get started on it today sometime! I will post pictures in progress to share with you, meanwhile if you are a jewelry artist why not give it a try? Go here for details, Art Bead Scene July Challenge.

Have fun! and even if you don't enter, check out the creations of those who do here at the Art Bead Scene Flickr pool.


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PCAGOE Vessel Challenge

Time flies by. I forgot to post here that we are now back to our challenges at the PCAGOE. This month the theme was Vessels, suggested by yours truly. There's a lot of variety in the entries so I'm sure you will find one that you like. There are five prize packages up for giveaways to five voters who will be drawn on July 8th.




My entry is the last in the picture, the Vessel I made for my Esther Purim line which can be found in my AlmostARTifacts shop. It opens up to reveal a secret message.


You can vote here until July 7th midnight for your favorite one.



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The crying continues

I heard him today as I got up, it wasn't the strong virile cry of a hawk, but rather that same sound I heard on Sunday, right after I was told he lost his nest mate/best friend. I looked around but didn't see him, but yesterday awoke to the noise of birds, this was nothing unusual as there is are bushes right outside my bedroom windows and the birds love to gather there and sing in the morning. But this was different, this was more of a cacophony, and it was starting to give me a headache. I got up and went into the bathroom and looked out the window which is next to my bedroom, but saw nothing, still heard it, but saw nothing. When I came out to the other end of the house I heard it even stronger. I opened my side door and in the little treed courtyard we have I could hear the robins and Cardinals carrying on something fierce. My brain was still not awake though, saw nothing, closed the door. Then went into the living room to open the curtains, and what was right in front of me on the lawn?

Staring straight at me, or at least towards the windows was the one left alive, the hawk that I saw mourning on Sunday laying in the driveway ( read this post). And he or she had finally snagged themselves something to eat. It was sad because I love my squirrels , having raised two by hand from the nest stage, one was even paralyzed from the waist down, and we feed them at our backyard picnic table everyday. They are so comfortable in my backyard, well, it's theirs , that they will not even move from eating when I come home or go out on the porch. When I take my dog for a walk I have to yell at them to get up a tree! As you can see by this picture ( before we washed the windows) they are quite comfortable. But the Hawk has swooped through this area many a times, and every time that I know of he missed. But had better aim I guess in the front yard.

But it was so sad, he just sad there on top of it, then moved away, like he didn't know what to do. Like he was waiting for his friend to come join him for the meal. I took several pictures as he had always moved too fast for me when I saw him in the yard. But this time he just stayed there. Tried to move off with it but only got about 12 feet away. Then the neighbor came out and he flew off. I checked throughout the afternoon to see if he had come back to get his prize, but he never did, so when hubby came home he gave it a proper burial.

I was still sad for him, I think he was too grief-stricken to eat. I've watched birds all my life, my grandfather taught me about their wonderment and diversity as a small child, and I have seen them both in the wild and caged, but never have I seen the expressions I've seen on this bird. Such sadness, confusion, sorrow, just feeling lost, and I could relate. I hope that it goes away soon, but while the empathy was coursing through my mind, today when I opened the drapes to the back porch I saw some movement. I don't remember if I told you or not but this Spring we had house wrens build a nest in the little corner of the ceiling we'd made for them from chipboard and Styrofoam. I watched every day only 10 feet away, sitting here at my dining room table looking out the door as I worked on the PC. I didn't get to see them fledge, but hubby caught them early one morning and took some pics. Lately this past week, I've seen a couple around the porch, thinking they were the babies coming around because they remembered where they were born. I think one is one of them that found a mate because as I opened my curtains today, I was not greeted with death and grief, but hope and life. The second platform we put up on the rafters has the beginning of a nest growing on it, and I saw a little wren with his or her building materials go up into there, so my hope is to see life once again grow in my own backyard.

These are the three little babies that momma is trying to convince to come out of the nest this past Spring. The first was the hardest my husband said, but after that one came out the other two followed quickly but hung around on the porch for awhile.

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